Heather McGowan, Leader, Thinker & Future-of-Work Strategist (Part 1 of 2)
Release Date: 01/30/2020
The Culture Gap
Join Daniel for a new podcast: Imagine What's Next. IWN launches on March 30th, and you can find it wherever you listen to podcasts. IWN explores the mindsets, methods, and skills that leaders and product managers must employ to think long-term--also known as vision and strategic foresight. Ignoring the future and the confluence of trends, risks, opportunities, technologies, and systemic challenges coming at your organization produces blind spots that force reactive thinking and strategies. Join host Daniel Forrester, an author, entrepreneur, trusted advisor to CEOs, and massive open online...
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Daniel Coyle is a contributing editor for Outside magazine and the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, Lance Armstrong’s War. His book, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, has defined for many what the world of high-performing cultures and teams looks like. His new book, The Culture Playbook, is his next chapter in helping organizations and leaders to think through how to effectively drive a high-performance culture into your organization. In this episode of The Culture Gap, Daniel talks about the intersection of high-performing...
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In the second part of this two-part episode of The Culture Gap, Dee Ann sheds light on how she helped Chick-fil-A to design an intentional culture in which every single customer experience went above and beyond expectations, and how principles rather than rules helped make this possible. She also shares her wisdom about accountability, scaling for growth, and the intersection of customer and employee experience.
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Dee Ann Turner is a retired veteran of Chick-fil-A who spent 33 years rising to be one of the first female officers of this iconic company. Dee Ann started in HR before eventually leading the talent and franchisee selection and the sustainability division, in the last part of her career at Chick-fil-A. She also helped to design the talent systems and processes of the culture of Chick-fil-A, and in July 2018, Dee Ann ventured out on her own to start her own company.
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Susan Bratton is the Founder and CEO of Savor Health, a start-up that harnesses the power of data and algorithms to provide an unprecedented service of personalization of nutrition for those dealing with multiple types of cancer. By leveraging data science, expert knowledge, and scientific literature, Savor Health delivers prescriptive nutrition interventions to cancer patients, helping them on their road to recovery.
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In the second of this two-part episode of The Culture Gap, Tracey gives us an inside look into the transformation of this organization. She shares how focusing on the customer experience is taking a center stage at the ADA, and how she is reshaping her organization’s culture to reflect this. Tracey also shares more about her experience with collaboratively designing strategy, communicating with stakeholders, and building out a team that will tackle the challenges of the future. Welcome to Culture Gap.
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Tracey Brown is the CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and a dynamic and transformative leader. Prior to her current role at the ADA, Tracey was working with Sam’s Club and Walmart and made some significant strides during her tenure there. Today, she is changing lives and impacting others with her work at the ADA.
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In the second of this two-part episode of The Culture Gap, Heather shares more about the culture needed to survive and thrive in this modern context, as well as the role of technology and machines in influencing corporate culture. She shares some insights about her new book coming out in spring, The Adaptation Advantage, and some advice for the leaders and the youth of today. Welcome to Culture Gap.
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Heather McGowan is an extraordinary leader, thinker, and future-of-work strategist. She is an author and speaker who has a lot of insight about the future of work, the future of our relationships with one another, and the skills it will take to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. Heather is not one to tout a dystopian future but believes that humans need to think differently about how we prepare for work and how we work in order to thrive in the future of it.
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Adrienne Penta is the Executive Director for the 200-year-old company and oldest private bank on Wall Street, Brown Brothers Harriman and their Center for Women and Wealth. A lawyer by training, Adrienne joined Brown Brothers in 2008, and in 2014, spearheaded the launch of the Center for Women & Wealth, dedicated to serving women and the wealth that they control.
info_outlineHeather McGowan is an extraordinary leader, thinker, and future-of-work strategist. She is an author and speaker who has a lot of insight about the future of work, the future of our relationships with one another, and the skills it will take to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. Heather is not one to tout a dystopian future but believes that humans need to think differently about how we prepare for work and how we work in order to thrive in the future of it.
In the first of this two-part episode of The Culture Gap, Heather shares how her own upbringing shaped her as a thinker and leader, as well as some of her key observations about the changes that are taking place at an individual, organizational, and societal level. Heather explains why our current structures do not support our human needs for connection and community, how social media might provide a solution, as well as how leaders should be approaching strategy in their organizations to adapt to the future of work. Welcome to Culture Gap.
Key Takeaways:
[:44] Daniel introduces his guest for this episode — Heather McGowan.
[1:38] Who is Heather?
[2:25] What are some of the values that have shaped Heather as a person and a leader?
[5:58] What is the moment of change that individuals, organizations, and institutions are living through?
[8:27] What happens to the psyche of the worker when the structures we have do not support our needs for membership, belonging, and a sense of community?
[12:48] What is Heather optimistic about in relation to what is possible in building up authentic human connections?
[15:09] What are Heather’s thoughts on how leaders should be approaching strategy and strategic planning?
[20:35] Cognitive diversity and psychological safety are two essential elements to a competitive and successful organization. What is Heather’s advice to leaders to cultivate these in their organizations?
[24:26] Knowing vs. learning mindset — Heather breaks down the differences and explains why it is so important for us to adopt a learning mindset to move into the future of work.
Brought to You By:
Learn more about:
Articles by Thomas Friedman (NY Times)
Between Two Ages: The 21st Century and the Crisis of Meaning,
by William Van Dusen Wishard
Alone Together, by Sherry Turkle
The Two Traits of the Best Problem-Solving Teams, by Alison Reynolds and David Lewis (HBR)